Oregon's Steens Mountain, located in the state's southeast corner, is a
gem--relatively undiscovered but gaining in popularity. Recently it
received federal designation as a "Cooperative Management and Protection
Area", an action that will create a wilderness of 169,465 acres of land
free from cattle grazing. In the summer of 2000 I made a visit and brought
home many great pictures. This is one of the best. Wildhorse Lake is
visible after a short walk from the highest point in the area accessible by
road. The next day I went with a friend on a three-day backpack into the
land you see in this picture and we didn't encounter another person for the
entire trip.

This photo was shot in early afternoon. It's a difficult time to
photograph owing to the high contrast in the scene from the gathering
thunderclouds. The flowers in the area were at their peak and the magical
shadows of the clouds dancing on the land below made an unforgettable
sight. I knew the shot might not turn out but it was worth a
try.

After getting the film back this image looked the best but resisted printing
in the darkroom. I spent well over a hundred dollars trying different
combinations of exposure, dodging, and burning but to no avail. Then I
attended a lecture by Charles Cramer, an accomplished digital photographer whose
work clearly demonstrated that a digital approach would help. I paid for a
professional scan of the film, worked for many hours at my computer, and got the
results I wanted. I'm grateful to him for the inspiration that made this
photograph possible.

Despite the dreamlike beauty you see here, the area is a desert and can be
harsh. Even early in the season water is very scarce. On our last
day of the trip my friend Rob and I ran out of water even after careful
planning. We were able to hike down a slope to a patch of snow and melted
some on our stove to fill our bottles again.